The route was not that initially announced, but the outcome is no less happy.
The two Afghan Paralympic athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli, registered respectively in para taekwondo and athletics, arrived this Saturday in Tokyo and will therefore be able to fulfill their dream of participating in the Games.
On Monday, information from the ABC media revealed that the athletes had fled Kabul towards Australia, in the company of "about fifty athletes".
This information, however confirmed for the head of mission Arian Sadiqi, was not accurate since the two athletes were ultimately exfiltrated and collected by the French authorities.
On Saturday, it was therefore from France that they were able to reach Japan, information confirmed by a press release from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
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The Ministry of Sports, alerted by a personality from Afghan civil society, worked with the support of the Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs to carry out this operation. Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli were able to leave Kabul airport in a plane carrying other Afghan civilians. When they arrived in France, they were accommodated at INSEP, where they were able to train all week and were visited by the Minister Delegate in charge of Sports Roxana Maracineanu.
“I firmly believe that through the Paralympic movement and the Paralympic Games we can all deliver the positive message that peaceful coexistence is best for humanity, that we should celebrate our differences. knowing that we have more in common than what divides us, and that we should maintain and cherish peace because quarrels and negative feelings only destroy humanity, ”said Arian Sadiqi, Head of Mission of the Afghan Paralympic team, cited by IPC.
Despite the withdrawal of the Afghan National Paralympic Committee from the Games, following the takeover of the Taliban, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had confirmed to the Parisian that "if, by chance, the two athletes managed to get to Tokyo, they would still be able to represent Afghanistan ”. The country's flag was also carried during the opening ceremony of the Games, despite the absence of its athletes. Zakia Khudadadi, and Hossain Rasouli will therefore be able to take part in their events: that of Taekwondo K44 -49kg on September 2 for her, and of 400m T47 on September 3 for him. In addition, the IPC announced that neither of the two athletes will give an interview or be present in the mixed zone during the competition.